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After announcing the start of the seat-grabbing battle, Sword Douluo scattered the sixty-four seat tokens across the upper and lower zones.
Whoever held a seat token after one hour would qualify for the individual matches. During that hour, any method could be used to seize a token—nothing was against the rules.
Even killing was permitted.
And in that time, no one outside the arena was allowed to interfere. Otherwise, they would be considered enemies of the three upper sects. But once the hour ended, all fighting had to stop.
Lan Minghua had no objections. He lazily said to Oscar and the others, "Go on, don't disappoint me."
With that, he slouched back into his seat, not even bothering to move, leaving them to figure things out for themselves. After all, flowers raised in a greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain.
Oscar and the others exchanged firm looks and nodded heavily.
Oscar swiftly ran his hand across his storage pouch, taking out a pile of recovery sausages, detox sausages, flying sausages, and mirror-image sausages to hand to Zhu Zhuqing, Meng Yiran, and Dugu Yan.
"Don't refuse. This is a no-rules seat-grabbing battle. Keep these for emergencies."
The three girls didn't stand on ceremony, accepting them and storing them away. As Lan Minghua's disciples, they were undoubtedly the prime targets of the upper sects. If they couldn't even pass this stage, their own loss of face would be a small matter; disgracing Lan Minghua would be unforgivable.
Oscar spoke solemnly, "Our goal is to take the top four. Zhuqing and I will be in the upper zone, while Meng Yiran and Dugu Yan will go to the lower zone. Everyone—let's do this!"
"Let's go!"
After cheering each other on, Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing headed for the upper zone, while Meng Yiran and Dugu Yan moved toward the lower zone.
The other factions also entered the arena.
Led by Yu Tianxin, the disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect entered the lower zone, their sights set on Dugu Yan and Meng Yiran. Some direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect followed, armed with hidden weapons.
Meanwhile, led by Tang Long, the Haotian Sect disciples entered the upper zone, targeting Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing. They too had direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect assisting them, also equipped with hidden weapons.
Spirit Hall's Golden Generation—Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan—entered the lower zone.
The Star Luo representatives, Davis and Zhu Zhuyun, entered the upper zone, their target also being Zhu Zhuqing.
As for the members of the other elemental academies—Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Huo Wushuang—they entered at random.
Tang San chose the upper zone. He intended to defeat Lan Minghua's eldest disciple, Oscar, and slap Lan Minghua's face in the process.
As for Xiao Wu, after seeing the hundred-thousand-year Azure Bull Python's right arm bone, the shock was too much for her, and she had fainted on the spot. Tang San knew why; in the past two days, Tang Hao had told him Xiao Wu's true identity. He had no intention of letting her participate anyway for fear of her getting hurt, so he took the opportunity to ensure she was resting safely.
Lan Minghua took in the entire scene but made no move to intervene.
Heh, they want to threaten me through Oscar and the others? Is this their petty little scheme? How disappointing.
Leaving aside whether anyone in the younger generation could even break through the defenses of the Dark Dou Armor and the Three-Treasure Orbs, simply catching up to his disciples was a challenge in itself. After all, Oscar's third soul skill granted a flight speed on par with a Soul Emperor-level agility-type Soul Master. The Upper Sect disciples would have trouble just keeping up.
Lan Minghua couldn't be bothered to figure out what Tang San and the others had planned. Instead, he activated his system's talent-scoring function, curious to see the ratings of the so-called "geniuses" present.
Seeing Lan Minghua's dismissive attitude, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Bone Douluo, Yu Yuanzhen, and Tang Xiao. They immediately gave the order for their respective disciples to encircle and eliminate Oscar's group.
The moment Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing entered the upper zone, they found themselves surrounded. They had barely steadied their footing when several figures shot out from the crowd, charging directly at them.
Leading the charge was Tang Long, a direct disciple of the Haotian Sect—and a Soul King. The disciples with him were also from the Haotian Sect, all Soul Kings above level forty-seven. Not only that, but several direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect followed close behind.
"Seven Treasures are famous, the first is: Strength!"
The Seven Treasure disciples instantly unleashed their soul skills, amplifying the power of Tang Long and the others.
In a flash, Tang Long's group shot forward like cannonballs and trapped Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing. Raising their massive Haotian Hammers high, they brought them crashing down with mountain-splitting force.
"Dodge!" Oscar yelled, hastily swallowing a flying sausage. His body shot into the sky.
Zhu Zhuqing's reaction was just as swift. Her form blurred, leaving only a fading afterimage in her place.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed as the entire upper arena shook violently. The uninformed participants wore expressions of pure shock. They had expected the fight to be intense, but not this intense. Still, it wasn't their problem, so they focused on finding the seat tokens.
From the air, Oscar located Zhu Zhuqing and contacted her via sound transmission. "Zhuqing, let's split up. Don't get tangled up with them. Just grab a token and lead them on a chase."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, relaying a message back to Oscar and to Meng Yiran and Dugu Yan in the lower zone. "Be careful. Those Seven Treasure disciples have Tang San's hidden weapons strapped to their backs. They might have others concealed as well. Don't let your guard down."
Warned, the four of them discreetly sized up the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan disciples. Sure enough, each carried a Zhuge Divine Crossbow. It wasn't that they didn't want to hide them; the clan simply didn't have enough spatial soul tools to go around.
After exchanging information, the four of them split up to search for tokens.
Seeing Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing vanish, Tang Long cursed, "Damn it! After them!"
The Seven Treasure disciples held nothing back, immediately casting another skill. "Seven Treasures are famous, the second is: Speed!"
Their speed now boosted, the Haotian Sect disciples split into two teams to hunt down Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing.
At that moment, someone got lucky. A Soul Elder in his twenties cried out in ecstasy, as if wanting the whole world to know, "I found a seat token! I found a seat—"
Before he could finish the word, he felt a coldness on his neck, and a spray of blood erupted. A figure in black, holding a dripping blade, mockingly plucked the token from his hand.
"Was this yours? Then take it!"
"You're right. It's yours if you can take it!"
The next instant, a sword blade emerged from the black-clad man's chest, its tip dripping with fresh blood.
With the first kill made, the others no longer held back. It was now a matter of kill or be killed. Amidst the frenzy, the seat tokens became hot potatoes, repeatedly thrown into the air.
Zhu Zhuqing seized her opportunity. Transforming into a streak of black lightning, she leaped high into the air, snatched a token, and sprinted away without looking back.
She had barely taken a few steps when a familiar wave of white light shot towards her.
"Dai Mubai?"
Just as she spoke the name, a voice answered. "Not Dai Mubai—his brother!"
A tall, golden-haired man blocked her path. It was the Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai's older brother, Davis.
Staring at the solitary Zhu Zhuqing, Davis sneered, "What's this? That trash Dai Mubai didn't even have the guts to join you?"
(End of Chapter)